Mask
making is an important cultural art throughout the history
of Cote d’Ivoire. Masks like those above are worn
by the Poro, a secret men's society. The essence of Poro
crystallizes in the masked figure. Members take responsibilities
in the political, religious, and educational lives of the
community. Membership begins with the child's period of “discovery” followed
by a seven-year initiation period. Young men converse with
each other using a secret language and passwords known
only to other Poro members. To an outsider, it sounds like
babble, but members always understand each other. When
young men reach age 20, they are called into society and
trained by the elder group above them. There is much work
to be done during the initiation process. Dancing the masks
is part of this work, but it is the combination of work
and the mask dance that must make the whole. Poro men work
for the society as a whole, collecting items such as shells,
food, and coins for distribution among the community. This
is done to keep everyone equal, so that no family has any
power over another.

These young Poro men also perform masked rituals at funerals,
which can last up to five days. The mask for this occasion
is made of fabric, raffia, fibers, and feathers. After
a variety of preparations and offerings, all but
the closest
relatives of the deceased Poro member are required to leave.
When the streets empty, the Poro Society’s most important
mask, a zoomorphic helmet mask, appears. The word "kporo" designates
not only this masked figure, which is at the center of Poro
rituals, but also the secret society as an institution. Each
mask has its own significance and is made from ritual materials
for certain purposes.

*
* *

Cote
d’Ivoire borders Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina
Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf
of Guinea in West Africa. Independent since August 7,
1960, recent dissent resulted in a coup d’etat in
1999 and a civil war in 2002. Prior history contains many
stories
of warfare and turmoil, as do all countries on the surface
of Mother Earth. Because of long-time French rule, that
is the official language. Cote d’Ivoire used to
be called the Ivory Coast because it was a huge source
of
ivory from elephant tusks, but in 1985, the government
officially changed the name to the French version.. Yamoussoukro
is the capital city.

A
country of western sub-Saharan Africa, the first recorded
history of this land is found
in the chronicles of North
African Berber traders who from Roman times conducted a
caravan trade across the Sahara in salt, slaves, gold and
other goods.
The southern terminals of the trans-Saharan trade routes
were located on the edge of the desert and from there supplemental
trade extended as far south as the edge of the rain forest.
The most important terminals—Djenne, Geo and Timbuctu—grew
into major commercial centers around which the great Sudanic
empires developed, which were able to dominate neighboring
states. These empires also became centers of Islamic education
from the 11th century,

Compared
to neighboring Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire suffered little from the slave trade, as
European slaving and merchant ships preferred other areas
along the coast with better harbors. In 1843- the kings
of the Grand Bassam and Assinie regions were placed under
French rule, followed by explorers, missionaries, trading
companies and soldier who extended these regions inland
from the lagoon region until 1915.

The
development of cocoa production for export and foreign
investment, along with
close ties to France since 1960’s independence,
made Cote d’Ivoire one of the most prosperous of
the West African states for some time, until internal
political
turmoil Today, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration
of rebel forces have been problematic as rebels seek
to
enter the armed forces. Citizen identification and voter
registration pose election difficulties; several thousand
UN troops and several hundred French remain to help parties
implement their commitments and support the peace process.

Cote
d’Ivoire is on a Tier 2 Watch List for its failure
to provide evidence of increasing efforts to eliminate
trafficking, particularly with regard to its law enforcement
efforts and protection of sex trafficking victims.

"Child
soldier in the Ivory Coast"
(drawing by Gilbert G. Groud)

Incongruously
situated in the West African bush, the Basilica of Our
Lady of Peace (Basilique
de Notre Dame de la Paix de Yamoussoukro) is the largest
church in the world. The Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) is
only 20-30% Christian, with the remainder adhering to indigenous
animist religions (25-40%) and Islam (35-40%).

The
great basilica was the project of the Catholic former president
of the Ivory Coast, who wished it to be a monument to
himself.

***

Félix Houphouët-Boigny chose his birthplace
of Yamoussoukro as the new capital of his country in 1983.
As part of the plan for the city, the president wished to
memorialize himself with the construction of what would be
the "greatest church in the world." The president
commissioned a stained glass window of his image to be placed
beside a gallery of stained glass of Jesus and the apostles.

The basilica was constructed between 1985 and 1989 at a
cost of US $300 million. It was intentionally modeled after
the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome, whose size it intentionally
surpassed to become the largest church in the world. The
cornerstone was laid on August 10, 1985, and was consecrated
on September 10, 1990, by Pope John Paul II. Like its model in Rome, Yamoussoukro's basilica is not a cathedral. The nearby Cathedral of Saint Augustine is the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Yamoussoukro and the principal place of worship for the city.
The design of the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace is modeled closely on that of St. Peter's Basilica, but architect Pierre Fakhoury constructed the dome to be slightly lower and the cross on top to be larger. The finished height is 158 meters (518 feet). There is enough space to seat 7,000 people in the nave with standing room for an additional 11,000 people. Constructed with marble imported from Italy and is furnished with 7,000 square meters of contemporary stained glass from France, columns are plentiful throughout the basilica but are not uniform in style. Next to the basilica are two identical buildings serving as a rectory and private papal villa, respectively. The villa is reserved for papal visits, which has only occurred once.

(Our
Lady of Peace Cathedral in Yamoussoukro)

This is a little picture of
Herve Katwe-teba Kalamba,formerly of Daloa, Cote d’Ivoire, who collected
our soil from Yamoussoukro, capital city of Cote d’Ivoire.
His location was the site of the Basilica at Yamoussoukro.
He is now in Democratic Republic of Congo because of the
recent disturbances in Cote d’Ivoire. Thank you, Herve.

***

[San
Pédro, Land of Blue]

San Pédro
land of blue taxis,
an ocean, riptides, and rocks,
a bridge made of driftwood,
red dirt in the tree lined hills,

No books lead here,
no guides but chance
and memories past,
rolling like the white cloud,

My book cover is blue,
my breathing is slow,
white like a phantom ghost,
I wake up red in the sun.

(A poem
by an unknown Cote d’Ivoirian
Poet)

* * *

Masks
are fascinating human constructs used to disguise the wearer--to
celebrate with, to commit crimes
behind. It
is important to keep the openings properly aligned over the
eyes, otherwise a mask can become a blindfold. In so many
ways, human life on earth is blinded to the processes and
meaning of this great planet we share. We have a way of mentally
masking the ironies that as blood is shed on the soil of
so many countries, cruelties of slavery delivered and received,
at the same time crops are planted, flourish and harvested,
and flowers bloom in Grandma’s garden.

“…both the mythic Goddess of Grain and the Reaper
represent archetypal energies associated with the Earth.
Our planet has 4.5 billion years of experience in both sustainability
and innovation. What if we looked to Mother Nature for solutions?
Biomimicry (called Bionics in Europe), the study and adaptation
of natural processes, does exactly that. Although biologically
inspired advances are not new—the Wright Brothers watched
pigeons in flight; Velcro was invented by an engineer who
analyzed how burrs caught in his dog’s fur—viewing
Nature as partner and teacher results in life-changing innovations.” Stephanie
Austin, The Mountain Astrologer, Feb/Mar 2011.

While
magnificent churches to peace are built upon the backs
of the poor, Spirit is alive and well in
every person, edifice
and book aside. This is the core magic and mystery of our
lives on the shoulders of our Great Mother Earth. Adult human
beings can choose what individual role to play, what mask
not to wear, to remove the invisible, internal mask/blindfold
that keeps us from seeing the importance of this choice to
the whole. The word for peace in Cote d’Ivoire is pax.